


Untold Secrets

by Hellokaelyn



Category: NCIS
Genre: AU, F/M, Post-Episode: s16e13 She
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-11
Updated: 2019-03-11
Packaged: 2019-11-15 07:45:48
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,106
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18069404
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hellokaelyn/pseuds/Hellokaelyn
Summary: “Now you know.”Ellie jumped with a gasp, shoving the paper in her pocket as a quick reaction.“K-Know what? And what're you doing here?”More than just Ziva's secret comes to light.





	Untold Secrets

**Author's Note:**

> Not sure how people will like this buuut.. I decided to take something I did in one of my other fics and use it for 16x13. 
> 
> And sorry for if the Hebrew in this is wrong 🙏

Ellie didn't know what she felt staring at the piece of paper in her hand. It felt like she had read the words a million times within the few minutes she had been standing there. 

She was so focused on it, she hadn't even noticed she wasn't alone until they spoke.

“Now you know.”

Ellie jumped with a gasp, shoving the paper in her pocket as a quick reaction.

“K-Know what? And what're you doing here?”

Instead of responding, Nick closed the distance between them and pulled her hand out of her jacket pocket. Ellie felt her heart speed up a fraction as he read it. 

“Nick?” She said in a small voice when she realized there was no surprise or shock on his face, instead he sighed and closed his eyes for a brief second. 

_ Now you know _ he had said. Ellie blinked at him in surprise. “You..you knew.”

Nick nodded. 

“How? I-” She let out a short laugh of disbelief. “You didn't even know her!” 

“I'm sorry, Ellie.” He said softly. 

She felt uneasy at the words. “Sorry for what?”

“There's a lot of things you know..things the others know..but there's  _ a lot _ none of you know. I-” He ran a hand down his face in frustration. “I didn't mean to keep any of it from you I just-”

“Nick.” She put her hand on his arm. “Just..tell me what's going on. What are you talking about? How do you know about Ziva?”

Nick swallowed roughly and looked behind her at the picture on the desk. Ellie watched as he reached behind her to grab it, sliding the photo out of the frame but instead of there being an empty space..there was another picture underneath. Ellie grabbed it from his hand, her eyes widening.

A little girl Ellie knew had to be Ziva was in the middle, a younger girl beside her clinging to the leg of an older boy, and on the other side of Ziva was a boy who looked the same age as the youngest girl.

Her eyes snapped to Nick. 

That little boy was standing right in front of her.

“This- you- what-” Ellie stumbled over her words, so many questions floating through her head that she felt a little dizzy. 

Nick took out his wallet and Ellie watched closely as he slid his finger along the seam of one of the edges, a secret pocket opening up. He took out an ID and handed it to her. 

_ Nicholas David  _ was the name on it. 

“I’m so confused.” Ellie said in a frustrated tone that had a hint of a whine in it. 

Nick’s lips lifted for a second. 

“I was born a Torres..but I grew up as a David.” He said, his voice almost a whisper. 

Ellie listened closely as he launched into the story.

When he was a baby his dad had died, but Nick’s mom couldn’t afford to take care of a baby and five year old Lucia and so she called her sister, begging her to look after him. Rivka David didn’t hesitate to take her nephew in, raising him as her own when Nick’s mom turned cold, acting as if she had no son at all. Nick grew up thinking of Rivka as his mother, Eli David as his father, Ari as the cool older brother that visited and brought presents, Ziva as his older sister by two years who protected him and his sister Tali who was the same age as him. But it all changed when Nick and Tali were sixteen, and she was killed. Fearing for his safety, Nick was sent back to Florida to live with Lucia, his sister he had talked to but never met in person until then. Nick being full of guilt and grief didn’t put up a fight. 

Nick had kept in contact the best he could with Ari and Ziva, but as Ari started to change the contact between them dissolved into nothing. Ziva after the death of their mother was the only real contact Nick had with his life in Israel, Eli David wasn’t much for checking in unless it suited his needs and by the time he had died, Nick had gone years without talking to him. Nick and Ziva were the only David’s left. Things changed for the two once more when Ziva had become pregnant with Tali. Nick had been by Ziva’s side, and had been there when Tali was born. That peace lasted for a little over two years, until enemies of the past came back for Ziva resulting in her faking her death and leaving instructions with Orli the Mossad Director to bring Tali to Tony where she’d be safe. Nick had to go on like normal. He hadn’t been prepared for the whirlwind that brought him right to Gibbs’ team, with some of the people he knew so much about but had to act like he didn’t know. Nick had used his undercover skills and slipped into the role of Nick Torres, Nicholas David being shoved into the shadows..until now.

Ellie really felt dizzy from all the information now as she leaned back against the desk, her mind spinning.

She wanted to be hurt that Nick had acted like she was a little crazy when the case connected to Ziva, especially after she had told him how she felt in the hallway at NCIS..until she thought back on it. 

_ Ziva David is dead _ Nick had said the words almost as if he had repeated them to himself many times before. And Ellie remembered the look in his eyes begging her to let it go, at the time she had thought it was to keep her from getting in too deep and invested..but now she realized the begging in his eyes she had seen was for the worry that her digging would result in Ziva’s secret being revealed. 

Another moment that stuck out to her was when Nick first walked into Ziva’s office. 

_ I like this woman _ He said the moment he saw the guns that were hidden, but there was no surprise especially considering Nick had known next to nothing about Ziva as she wasn’t something people at NCIS talked about, Ellie knew that better than anyone. 

“Who knows?” Ellie asked, her voice hoarse. 

“Orli who helped Ziva with the whole thing and is still helping her hide, me, and now you.” Nick said.

“What about Tony?”

Nick sighed. “Why do you think he wasn’t answering the phone at all during this case? He knows, but he only learned about Ziva when he left NCIS. Every now and then Ziva is able to visit or Tony visits her, discreetly and quietly.” 

Ellie kept her eyes on him as he stepped closer, standing so close to her she could smell the mint gum he liked on his breath. 

“Ziva took a risk coming back here and then letting you in on the secret.” Nick said softly. 

“So why did she?” Ellie asked in a whisper. 

Nick smiled at her with such a soft look it took her breath away for a second and her heart started to race with the hope she tried to hide away.

“Because of me.”

“W-What do you mean?” 

“That night- when you asked me why I cancelled your date with Boyd-” Nick licked his lips, Ellie’s eyes following the action before snapping her eyes back up to his own. “I chickened out of telling you I cancelled it because I was jealous, because how could I let you know how I felt when I would be keeping this huge secret from you if anything were to happen between us? Ziva and I don’t get in contact with each other all the time but when we do, it didn’t take her long to call me out on my feelings for you Ellie. Ziva could tell it was eating away at me..so I guess she used this as her opportunity.”

Ellie breathed in sharply. 

She almost felt as if she was dreaming, the words she longed to hear from him finally coming out of his mouth.  _ He had feelings for her _ .

Even though her mind was still swimming from all the information in such a short amount of time, it changed nothing of how she felt about the man standing in front of her. 

“Nick-” He looked at her as if he expected her to run the other direction. Ellie smiled. “Kiss me.”

He gaped at her a little before a chuckle fell from his lips seconds before his lips touched hers. Ellie kissed him back as her arms snaked around his waist, pulling him closer. Nick’s hands moved to cup her face as the kiss deepened making Ellie’s heart race, her stomach flutter, and a pleasant shiver go through her. She had wanted this for so long, longer then she had realized. 

Slowly they pulled away, Ellie’s eyes fluttered open to see Nick looking at her as if she was something amazing. 

Ellie bit her lip for a second before connecting their lips once more.

There was more to talk about..but right now she was done talking. 

* * *

That next night Nick leaned over and placed a soft kiss to Ellie’s forehead before slipping out of bed carefully to not wake her. Ellie mumbled something in her sleep and sighed but didn’t wake up. He quietly opened the draw to his nightstand, opening a secret compartment under it to take out a burn phone. 

With one last glance at Ellie who was tangled in his blankets and her hair spread out on his pillows, he shut the door behind him. 

_ “I was waiting for your call.” _

Nick held the phone to his ear and smiled, moving to sit on the couch. 

“Thank you.”

He could practically hear her smile on the other end.

_ “You are my little brother Nicholas, I know what it feels like not being with the one you love.”  _

Nick closed his eyes. “I’m sorry Ziva..I- if anyone deserves to have this, it’s you.” 

_ “You deserve it too, do not forget.” _

“I just want you to be happy.”

A small laugh reached his ears.  _ “Do not worry, I talk to you and see Tony and Tali, I am plenty happy.” _

“But Ziva-”

_ “I am fine Nicholas, promise.” _

Nick sighed. “Alright.”

_ “Go back to Ellie.” _

“What-”

She scoffed.  _ “I’m not stupid little brother.” _

He laughed. “Debatable.” He teased.

_ “Do not make me reach through this phone.” _

Nick grinned. “Ani ohev otach, Ziva.” 

_ “Ani ohevet otcha, Nicholas.” _

He leaned back against the couch not realizing Ellie was standing behind him in the now open doorway. 

Ellie wanted to smack herself for finding it so attractive hearing Nick speak Hebrew, god she was ridiculous. It even shocked her to hear him speak it though it shouldn’t have, he did grow up surrounded by the language after all. 

She decided to make her presence known as she moved around the couch, dropping herself down into his lap. Nick opened his eyes and smiled, wrapping his arms around her. 

“Tell me more about your family.” Ellie asked, running her fingers through his hair.

“I have more than one family Ellie.” Nick said in a teasing tone.

She rolled her eyes and yanked on his hair, making him flinch. “You know what I mean!”

Nick laughed. “Okay, okay..how about I tell you about the time Ari sneaked us into an old theater building-”

Ellie leaned against his chest listening as he talked about his childhood, a slight sad tone as he talked about his siblings but with a smile on his face as he remembered their adventures. 

As she listened to him talk, her eyes caught sight of something resting on one of the shelves in the living room. A jar of water, the same jar she remembered Kasie had given him. 

Ellie had no idea why he’d put  _ water _ of all things in the jar, she’d just have to ask him about it later. 

For right now she turned her full attention back to Nick who was telling the story of when he and Tali had broke one of their parents expensive vases and buried the pieces in the back garden, driving their mother crazy not knowing where it had suddenly disappeared to while Nick and Tali high fived each other around the corner, having gotten away with it. 

She drifted off to sleep an hour later, Nick’s voice telling the story of Ari sneaking them out for a joyride being the last thing she hears.


End file.
